Cognitive Healthspan vs. Lifespan: Formulating for Neurological Resilience and Lifelong Brain Functioning

Nutraceuticals World (NW): How is the conversation around cognitive health evolving, and how does it relate to healthspan and healthy aging?

Ramasamy Venkatesh, Founder and Managing Director, Gencor Pacific/Saanroo: Cognitive Health is intrinsically tied to healthy aging. An aging population requires good cognitive function to enjoy their life to the fullest. Human beings require good cognition, memory, thought processes, and mobility in their later years to fully enjoy their lifespan, which we define as healthspan: an active and healthy aging process. This is a crucial part of healthy lifestyle management.

NW: What determines cognitive biological age, and what pathways are important targets for proactive cognitive health strategies?

Venkatesh: A cognitive biological age could be defined as having levels of cognition at an older age that are similar in function and efficacy to what would have been an ideal cognitive function at a much younger age. The key pathway is to have optimal levels of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF). This is a vital protein that acts on your brain to support survival, growth, and maintenance of neurons. It helps build new brain cells and form new synaptic connections. It plays a major role in neuroplasticity, which is essential for learning and memory. Low levels are often linked to depression and neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. It regulates energy balance in the body by controlling appetite. It maintains energy homeostasis in the body.

NW: What have clinical studies on Saanroo’s ingredients shown about their potential to support cognitive health? How can those findings inform synergistic formulations?

Venkatesh: Levagen+ from Saanroo, a highly bioavailable form of Palmitoylethanolamide, has shown excellent efficacy in a double blind, randomized, placebo-controlled human clinical study to:

• Significantly increased BDNF levels, a key biomarker for neuroplasticity, learning, and memory, vs placebo.
• Improve memory performance on CANTAB testing. CANTAB, a validated scale developed by Cambridge University, is the gold-standard tool for memory assessment.
• Improvements in the memory domain.

These show that Levagen+ supplementation improves memory, as well as corresponding increases in circulating neurotrophic marker levels. This suggests that formulated Levagen+ holds promise as an innovative and practical intervention for enhancing cognitive health.

NW: What formulation challenges do brands face in developing effective cognitive health solutions, and how can they solve them?

Venkatesh: Key formulation challenges faced by brands in developing cognitive health solutions are to find ingredients with gold standard science in the form of well-designed, double blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, human clinical trials and with a scientifically validated mechanism of action.  

NW: What opportunities for innovation do you see for the next generation of cognitive health products?

Venkatesh: There are plenty of opportunities for innovation in developing new cognitive solutions like gold standard science, format versatility, evidence-based claims, etc. With an aging population and increasing lifespans, maintaining an ideal healthspan is the need of the hour, and cognition plays an important role in this roadmap.